New - Shows Moment Muslim Migrant Detonates Bomb in NYC’s Port Authority Subway Blast

Newly released security video of attempted homicide bombing bombing in the New York City subway system gives a fuller picture of the police response. Akayed Ullah’s jihad: to send a twisted anti-American message and kill dozens of people at one of the world’s busiest transit hubs.

Akayed Ullah, his 27-year-old mind fermenting with thoughts of martyrdom for ISIS, donned a dark hooded jacket and a dark backpack to cover his homemade bomb and fell in with New Yorkers on a train beginning their regular work week.

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Exclusive: New Video Shows Dramatic Police Response in Port Authority Subway Blast The video obtained only by News 4 shows the tense aftermath of the blast as authorities try to figure out what they’re dealing with and if there’s still a risk of explosion

By Andrew Siff, NBC News, February 13, 2017:

Surveillance video obtained exclusively by News 4 New York shows the dramatic moments immediately after the Port Authority pipe bomb blast last December in which first responders swarm the bomber — and realize he’s still strapped.

 

Akayed Ullah, a Bangladeshi immigrant who was living in Brooklyn, tried to set off the pipe bomb in the corridor between the Port Authority Bus Terminal and the Times Square subway station the morning of Dec. 11, as commuters were rushing to work. Video obtained by the News 4 I-Team shows a sudden flash, and then when the smoke clears, Ullah is lying on the ground, legs twitching.

The corridor has suddenly emptied, and a horrified crowd gathers at one end to peer at the body on the ground, before police arrive to push them out and evacuate the terminal.

A contingent of police officers and military guardsmen soon sweeps in from the end of the corridor, flashlights on and guns drawn. They descend on Ullah and, peering over his body, suddenly see something that alarms them, and they quickly retreat.

“There might be something in his hand that they’re trying to prevent him from activating,” said retired FBI agent JJ Klaver, who reviewed the footage with the News 4 I-Team. “And then this officer, she steps on him.”

Klaver noted that the first team of officers who respond follows their training by not reaching for their radios or any electronics that could trigger a bomb.

“They can’t use their radios in that proximity,” he said. “The training is, you’re not gonna use your radio or cellphone. You’re gonna back away.”

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Moments later, Ullah, still lying on the ground, shows signs of consciousness as he bends a leg. Four Port Authority police officers — who have since been honored and decorated for their bravery — approach Ullah, cautiously, not knowing if someone else might be able to remotely activate the pipe bomb fastened to Ullah’s body with Velcro and zip ties.

“They’re at risk here, and they know that,” said Klaver, then noting of one officer: “This guy’s at maximum risk because he’s facing the explosives.”

“Heartbeats are going. This is a very nerve-racking situation for these guys.”